Having ignored Team Grumpy Rule #2 (Don't tinker with your bike the evening before the event. It will break, either then or, worse still, during the event) before Sunday's '25', and having paid the price in mechanical up-cocks in the opening few metres of that event it seemed entirely reasonable, I suppose, to similarly disregard Team Grumpy Rule #5 (Never train or race with a bad cough - it will destroy your entire season) and to turn out for this club event on the Astwood sporting course.
The club has pretty much decided to shift the start/finish to the area of the Bikebus cafe for the Astwood events. And on an evening as lovely as this, it was indeed very nice to be able to sit out on the decking for a cup of coffee after the race! The race itself attracted 22 riders (though one poor soul punctured before starting). A cracking evening saw some fine times, notably Jason Gurney's winning ride of 22:34.
For my part, I was quite pleased with 24:36, though I slipped back in the placings! I didn't really suffer from the coughing while out on the course, though I could feel a horrid rattling sensation in my chest throughout the race.
It was good to see that we had several riders from Team Corley - some of who had been at the "Come and Try It" event a few weeks earlier, but some were riding for the first time.
Result
